Penn State Football's New Leader - The Bill O'Brien File

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Bill O'Brien became the 15th leader of Penn State
football in its storied 125 seasons on the gridiron following an official announcement
on Friday evening.

The current offensive coordinator of the NFL's top seed in the AFC, New England
Patriots, brings 19 years of coaching experience to the Nittany Lion football
program.Let's take a closer look at O'Brien's
path to Happy Valley.

1990-'92 - Brown (Player)O'Brien served as a linebacker and defensive end for Brown University.He was a three-year letterman and graduated
in 1992 with a bachelor of arts degree with a double concentration in political
science and behavior management.

1993-'94 - Brown (Coach)He began his coaching career at Brown in 1993 where he coached the tight
ends.In 1994, O'Brien served as the
inside linebackers coach for Brown.

1995-2002 - Georgia TechO'Brien joined the staff at Georgia Tech where he spent three seasons as an
offensive graduate assistant.He began a
three-year stint as the Yellow Jackets' running backs coach in 1998
('98-2000).In each of his three seasons
leading the running backs, Georgia Tech finished no worse than third in the ACC
in rushing.He also served as the
recruiting coordinator in 1999 and 2000.During his final two seasons at Georgia Tech, O'Brien was the offensive
coordinator and quarterbacks coach, in addition to being assistant head coach
in 2002.He worked under George O'Leary
(1994-2001) and Chan Gailey (2002) while at Georgia Tech.

2003-'04 - MarylandFollowing his stint at Georgia Tech, O'Brien spent two seasons as the
running backs coach under Ralph Friedgen at Maryland.The Terrapins finished second in the ACC
rushing rankings and defeated West Virginia in the Gator Bowl during the 2003
season.

2005-'06 - DukeHe completed a two-year stint with the Blue Devils where he served as the
offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

2007-'11 - New England PatriotsO'Brien's most recent stop during his career was in New England.He originally joined the Patriots staff in
2007 before one season as the wide receivers coach (2008), two seasons as the
quarterbacks coach (2009-'10) and one season as the offensive coordinator
(2011).In 2008, despite losing
quarterback Tom Brady in week one of the season, receivers Wes Welker and Randy
Moss both finished with 1,000-yard seasons under the leadership of
O'Brien.Brady earned Pro Bowl
selections in each of the three seasons under the guidance of O'Brien,
including an NFL MVP and Offensive Player of the Year honor in 2010.This season, the Patriots offense played an
instrumental role in a 13-3 season.Brady finished second in the NFL in passing yardage with 5,235 yards.As a team, New England averaged 428.0 yards
per game (2nd in NFL), 317.8 passing yards per game (2nd in NFL) and 32.1
points per game (3rd in NFL).O'Brien
has worked with some of the most innovative players and coaches during his time
in the NFL.New England is the No. 1
seed in AFC for upcoming NFL Playoffs.

PersonalBorn on Oct. 23, 1969 in Dorchester, Mass., O'Brien was raised in
Andover.He and his wife, Colleen, have
two sons, Jack and Michael.

Leading Penn State
The 15th leader of Penn State football inherits a Nittany Lion squad coming off
a 9-4 season.Despite graduating 23
seniors, the Nittany Lions return a great deal of talent on both sides of the
ball.In all, the Lions return significant
playing experience to nine different spots on offense, 11 spots on defense and
at kicker/ punter from the 2011 squad.Penn
State's offseason officially begins today with a new leader directing the
program.In 239 days, a new chapter of
Penn State football will begin at Beaver Stadium when the Nittany Lions charge
out of the South Tunnel under the direction of head coach Bill O'Brien during
the season-opener against Ohio.